The Marquis and Marchioness Hamilton were staggered that Eris had returned from the party with a Temporary Blessing from the Goddess of Life. However, as the initial shock faded and they delved deeper into the conversation, they realized the situation was actually quite favorable.
"I was worried that benefits were centering too much on you personally rather than the house," the Marquis noted. "I had planned to make you the head of several projects to establish your authority and keep others in check before anyone got any jealous ideas. But with a Supreme God’s blessing, the entire landscape has shifted."
Just as Eris had suspected, her father had been intending to grant her formal authority to protect her from the envy of other nobles. He had believed it was a necessary step for her safety, even if it might make her future interactions with Kaito slightly more formal. Life’s blessing, however, changed everything.
While much depended on the whims of individual deities, a blessing was a profound symbol to the God race. Harming Eris now, after she had received Life’s blessing, was essentially equivalent to picking a fight with the Goddess of Life herself. Regardless of whether the Goddess actually chose to intervene, no other noble would dare lay a finger on Eris now.
Furthermore, though the Hamiltons had no way of knowing it, Life was the most traditional "God-like" thinker among the Supreme Gods. Unlike the unique circumstances of the Six Kings Festival, when Life bestowed a blessing of her own volition, she considered the recipient to be under her explicit protection.
In her eyes, any harm directed at Eris was an act of hostility against herself—and by extension, Shallow Vernal. Should such a thing happen, Life would move immediately to purge the offender. In that sense, her blessing provided an incredibly powerful and practical shield.
"There is much to process, but overall, to think the benefits would be this immense... I suppose I should have expected as much from Miyama Kaito-san," the Marquis mused.
"Indeed. My stomach... does hurt, though," Eris admitted.
Setting aside the physical toll of the stress, Eris had managed to obtain exactly what she needed most at this moment. It was an undeniable victory. Of course, that didn't stop her stomach from knotting in agonizing pain.
"By the way, Eris... that wasn't the end of it, was it?" her mother asked.
"No. I’ll move on to the next matter. I was able to greet Satania-sama, the Chairman of the Lord Trading Company. It seems Satania-sama holds me in high regard because Kaito-sama thinks so well of me. He offered a partnership with our house that is essentially a guaranteed commitment."
The Marchioness watched her daughter with an increasingly anxious expression. Eris nodded and continued, delivering news that made the Marquis's cheek twitch uncontrollably.
"That is... truly staggering. A connection with the Lord Trading Company is massive for us, especially since they already support the Reformist Faction. Deepening that tie is incredibly useful for our future. Of course, the logistical adjustments alone will be a nightmare..."
"Yes, Satania-sama has left the proposal entirely to us, so I believe they will almost certainly agree to whatever we suggest. That is precisely why we must be cautious. We also have the mining operations Rasal-sama brought to us..."
"Is our scope becoming too broad? We need to be careful not to earn the resentment of other merchant guilds. They operate on a different network than the nobility, and they can be difficult to manage."
"Yes, however... it’s a bit frightening, but for some reason, I’ve already obtained a connection that could resolve that exact problem."
A deal with the Lord Trading Company would be massive, and combined with Rasal's mining venture, it would look like the Hamiltons were expanding aggressively. Other companies would undoubtedly swarm them for a piece of the action. Even a Marquis house couldn't expand its partnerships indefinitely, and turning people down without causing offense was a delicate art—one made harder by the merchant world’s unique politics.
"A connection that could resolve it?" the Marquis repeated.
"Yes. Um... I was permitted to greet the Underworld King, Kuromueina-sama... and she even gave me permission to call her 'Kuro-sama.'"
The Marquis and Marchioness Hamilton stared up at the ceiling in a shared, silent daze. Their daughter was supposed to have simply attended a birthday party. Instead, she had returned with a Supreme God's blessing, a guaranteed trade deal with one of the Five Great Trading Companies, and a personal acquaintance with one of the Six Kings. It was enough to make anyone want to flee from reality.
But as with everything else involving Kaito’s luck, this connection was vital. Kuromueina reigned at the absolute apex of the world’s commerce. She was the final authority for the most powerful merchant guilds in the world.
Because of her influence and character, she was the one people turned to for arbitration or aid during financial crises. Countless trading companies owed her their survival. Simply being known to her carried more weight than any amount of gold.
"Just to be certain... the reason the Underworld King-sama was so friendly was...?"
"Kaito-sama apparently gave her a glowing review of me. Kuro-sama seemed very well-disposed toward me after hearing his opinion."
"This is on an entirely different scale," the Marquis groaned. "My years of experience are completely useless here."
Even for the famously gentle Kuromueina, building such a rapport upon a first meeting was unheard of. She was well aware of her own influence and typically kept her interactions with nobility to a minimum. But the filter of Kaito’s high opinion had effortlessly bypassed her usual reservations.
"Please... tell me that this is finally the end of it," her father pleaded.
"There is still more."
The benefits were staggering, but they were perfectly balanced by the growing agony in their guts. The three members of the Hamilton household gazed skyward once more, their movements perfectly synchronized in their despair.
Serious-senpai: "Normally, you have to build up rapport from zero through painstaking effort. But when Kaito gives you a high evaluation, the Initial Value of your friendship starts at 50 or 80. It's basically a cheat code."
???: "Handing out exactly the right connections alongside a massive dose of stomach pain... that’s so Kaito-san."